by Ali Parker
The place filled up fast. I went from waiting on only two tables for the first half hour to trying to manage eight of them. Every customer was a man, which didn’t bother me as much as I thought it would, and they were all friendly. The Stokes had a reputation for being an upscale place with professional service. It also had a reputation for expecting the same consideration from its patrons.
Like I said. It was a good place to work.
One of the girls’ shift ended, and she walked over to me as I waited at the bar for the bartender, Justin, to mix my cocktails for my newest table. She rested a hand on my shoulder. “Hey, Evelyn. I’m off for the night, but I still have a table left. They just sat down. Do you mind taking over for me? You can keep all the tips.”
I nodded. “Sure thing, Britt.”
Brittany beamed at me. “You’re the best. I’m glad Bruce hired you. The girl he fired was a really poor sport. She never wanted to help anyone out. I think you’re a great fit for the team. They ordered two whiskeys, by the way, and they’re at table seventeen.”
I smiled and waved as she hurried off to the back room. I’d heard her talking earlier in the night about meeting up with her boyfriend for a midnight showing of some new movie that was out. She seemed really excited, and I wasn’t going to make her miss her date night all for one lousy table.
Justin handed me the two highballs I’d ordered for one of my tables, and I asked him for the whiskeys. I delivered the highballs to a table of two gentlemen dressed in business suits, and they slid me a twenty as a tip. The customers in this place had money, and they were lining my pockets well.
I went back to the bar and put the whiskeys on my tray. Justin flashed me a bright white smile as I bustled off to table seventeen.
I didn’t realize who the two men were until it was too late, and I was standing at their table lowering one glass of whiskey down, followed by another.
They had both been at Kadia that night. The boy who offered me and Penny Zandra … and the big bald man who had held me at knifepoint. Neither of them glanced up at me as I put the drinks down, and when I straightened, I hurried to untuck my hair from behind my ears. I let it fall down around my shoulders and over my face. I hoped it worked well enough to disguise my identity from them both.
The bigger man was dressed plainly in a white button-up and navy pants. The first few buttons of his shirt were undone, revealing a powerful chest and a gold chain that hung off his neck. One leg was crossed over the other as he leaned back in the chair, a thick cigar pursed between his lips. He glanced up at me and a smile curled his wide mouth. “Why hello there, pretty young thing.”
“H-hello,” I said. Then, I reprimanded myself for sounding so damn week. I lifted my chin and willed him not to recognize me. “Can I get either of you anything else?”
He chuckled. The sound brought me back to that night. I could feel his hot breath on my neck, I could smell his breath, feel the press of his hard body all over me. “No thanks, sugar. We’re fine for now. Isn’t that right, Jason?”
Both the bald man and I looked over at the young man sitting across from him. Jason, the one who had tried to offer Penny and me Zandra, was picking at a loose thread in the knee of his jeans. He looked up at me and shook his head curtly.
The bald man growled. “Use your words, Jason. Be polite. The girl asked you a question.”
Jason stopped picking at his jeans and met my eyes. “No, thank you.”
I forced myself to smile at them. “All right. Well, you just let me know if you change your mind. I’ll be around.” I turned to leave.
Then thick fingers wrapped around my wrist. I froze and swallowed hard. I looked down at the big bald man who was holding onto me. He was smiling that same wicked smile he always wore, and I felt like I was looking right into the depths of his dark, mangled soul. “When does your shift end, baby?” he asked.
It took everything I had not to shiver with repulsion. I kept my smile plastered on my face and shrugged one shoulder. “Whenever this place dies down.”
“Well, I don’t have anywhere to be. I’ll stay here ‘til the end. Then maybe the two of us could, I don’t know, take that dress off you.”
“I have a boyfriend.” I don’t know what compelled me to say this. I also don’t know why I thought it would make a sliver of a difference to a man like him,
He laughed and put a hand on his chest. He still had his other hand on my wrist. “Well, I don’t see him. Is he here, sugar?”
I shook my head.
“Then, I don’t see what the problem is. I could show you what it feels like to be with a real man. I’d rock your world, kitten.”
I looked at Jason like he might help me. He looked down at his feet as soon as our gazes locked.
The big man tugged on my wrist. “Don’t tell me the scrawny ones are more your type?”
“No,” I said hurriedly. The big ones with beards and warm eyes were my type, apparently. “I’m sorry. But this is my workplace, and I just started here. I don’t want my boss getting the wrong idea about me. I really need this job.”
He let me go. I was shocked.
Jason got to his feet. The bald man watched him turn and leave without saying a word. The corner of his mouth twitched, and he shook his head. “Some boys just don’t understand the consequences of doing business. Go get me another drink, sugar. I’ll be here awhile.”
“Okay,” I said. I sounded as meek and terrified as I felt. All my insides had curled up into tiny balls of terror, and they only started unfurling as I rushed to the back room. I passed Justin, who arched an eyebrow at me. I didn’t say anything. I just kept going.
Bruce was still at his computer. He looked up when I flew past him and went to my locker. “Everything all right, Evelyn? Is it busy out there?”
“Yes, everything is fine. Sorry, I just need to make a quick call. It’s important.”
“Don’t worry about it. Take your time,” he said, turning back to his computer.
As Bruce clicked away on his keyboard, I rifled through my purse for the card I knew I’d dropped in it the night Derek drove me and Penny home from Kadia. When I couldn’t find it, I dumped everything out on the table. Bruce minded his own business.
I snatched up the card and called the number written neatly on the back. It rang and rang and rang. No answer.
“Damn it,” I breathed.
“You sure you’re all right?” Bruce asked, spinning around in his chair.
“Yes. Fine.” I dialed the number again. This time it only rang twice.
A deep voice answered and eased the fear that was steadily growing inside me. “Hello? This is Derek.”
“Derek. Hi. It’s Evelyn.”
“Evelyn? Are you okay? Where are you?”
My hands had started shaking. I swallowed and closed my eyes. I had to keep my cool just a little while longer. “I’m at work. At The Stokes, the cigar lounge. He’s here, Derek. The guy from the alley. He was with the younger one you were asking about, but he took off.”
“Where are you right now?” His voice was thick with menace.
“The break room.”
“Good. Don’t go out on the floor again. Is your boss there?”
“Yes.” I nodded even though he couldn’t see me and looked over at Bruce, who was watching me with a worried expression. He mouthed the words, “What’s going on?”
“Tell him you can’t go back out on the floor. Stay in the back. I’m only a ten-minute drive away. Think you can keep it together until then?”
I nodded again more to myself than to him. “I think so.”
“Evelyn, you have to. I’m sorry. You can do this.”
“Okay,” I breathed. “Just get here. Please.”
He hung up the phone.
Bruce stood up. “What the hell was that all about? Are you in some kind of trouble I should know about, Evelyn?”
I bit my bottom lip. “I’m sorry, Bruce. I couldn’t explain before. I had to make that call. There’s a man out t
here who is really dangerous, and I can’t let him recognize me.”
Bruce blinked. “Who is he?”
I shook my head. “No. I’m not telling you.”
“Why?”
“Because you’ll go out there and try to get him to leave. I know I’ve only known you for a few days but I know you. The best thing we can do is wait until my friend gets here. He can handle this. If we let on that we know who he is, your entire staff could be in danger.”
Bruce’s eyes flicked back and forth between mine. He was unsure if he should trust me or not. He was a good manager, and I knew his first concern was going to be his people. But if he tried to go out there and get The Hand to leave, things would go from bad to worse faster than Bruce could ever imagine.
And I couldn’t let that happen.
Chapter 13
Derek
“And just where the hell are you going?” Ryder asked.
He’d been pacing his kitchen floor for the last fifteen minutes while Dani sat beside me cleaning out the wound and stitching me up. She cut the thread and patted my shoulder. “You’re good to go.”
“Thanks, Dani,” I said as I got to my feet. Ryder was still glaring at me, waiting for my answer. “I told the girls from the alley that if they ever needed anything, they should call me. That was one of them. The Hand is at The Stokes Cigar Lounge where she works. Jason was with him, but she says he took off in a hurry.”
“Does she know which way he went?”
I shook my head. “You should go look for him. I’m going to the bar to deal with The Hand.”
“You shouldn’t go alone,” Dani said.
She was probably right. It was reckless and dangerous, but there was no way in hell I was going to ask any of my brothers to come with me. They had wives and children. They had people who depended on them. I had myself, and that had to be enough. I could take one for the team. “I’ll call them on the way,” I lied. “You just worry about finding Jason. He needs us right now.”
Ryder nodded. “Get the hell out of here. Call us when it’s done.”
I nodded and rushed to the door. Dani was following along behind me. “I don’t like this,” she said over and over. “Let me call it in.”
“Give me a fifteen-minute head start.”
“Ten,” she said flatly.
“Fine. Ten.” I wrenched open the front door.
Dani put her hand on my forearm. “Be careful, okay? Ryder can’t bear to lose anyone else. You’re important to us. To all of us. I know that sometimes you might think differently, but I want you to keep coming for pancake breakfasts.” She gave me a lopsided smile and let go of my arm.
I flashed her a grin. “If you weren’t already his, Dani, I’d—”
Dani burst out laughing and held her hand up. “Don’t even say it out loud, you dog. Go get that piece of shit. You’re cutting into your ten minutes.”
I hurried off to my truck, the pain in my arm a distant memory now, and got in. Dani stood in the doorway as I pulled out of the driveway. She looked scared. I couldn’t blame her.
I drove as fast as I could. There was hardly any traffic on the roads at this hour, and I knew I’d make good time. I just hoped it would be enough. When I was three minutes away, my phone rang, and Caleb’s name flashed across the display screen on my stereo. I jabbed the green phone button in the dash to answer the call.
“Hey,” Caleb’s voice filled the truck.
“What?”
“Dani just called me.”
Of course, she did. Sneaky woman. She knew all of us better than we knew ourselves. I often wondered where Ryder would be without her. She was as much our boss as he was these days. I didn’t know which one of them frightened me more. “What did she say?” I asked as I took a sharp left, cutting through traffic.
“That you’re planning on taking on The Hand alone.”
“I was gonna call you.”
“Then, why haven’t you? I’ve been waiting for said call.”
I clenched my teeth. No point in telling him the truth, that I wasn’t as valuable as them. “I can handle this on my own.”
“No, you can’t. How far away from the lounge are you?”
“Five minutes,” I said, which wasn’t true. I was two minutes away. Tops.
“Don’t go in until we get there. I’m en route now. So is Sabian and Jax. I haven’t gotten ahold of Axel yet, but I’m going to keep trying. We have to take this guy on together, man. There’s no point in throwing yourself to the wolves like this.”
“I have to go in there, Caleb. Evelyn is in there.”
“Evelyn?”
“One of the girls from the alley. She’s the one who called and gave me the tip. If he recognizes her, she’s going to be in over her head. I have to get her the hell out of there.”
“She’s tough. She can wait another ten minutes for the rest of us to get there.”
Ten minutes was too long. A lot of shit could go down in ten minutes. Sabian had almost died in ten minutes. Hyde probably had died in ten minutes. When The Hand was involved, I wasn’t going to work under assumptions. I was going to take action now to spare myself regret and guilt later. If he took a chunk out of me or worse, then so be it.
“I’ll see you when you get here,” I said.
“Don’t fucking go in there, Derek. I mean—”
I dropped the call as I pulled into the parking lot. Caleb called me back, but I let it keep ringing as I drove right up to the front doors and got out of my truck in a hurry. I left the door wide open with the phone still ringing inside and hurried up the front steps two at a time until I reached the front door.
I pushed inside and was engulfed by the calming sounds of jazz music, pleasant chitchat, and laughter. The place was a smoky haze, and women in black dresses and skirts flitted between tables with trays of drinks.
I went to the bar first.
The guy working it was young and had a name tag that read “Justin.” He was chatting with a blonde server, and I slapped my hand on the counter to get his attention. He gave me a sour look, but it was nothing compared to the dirty glare the server gave me.
“What’s your problem, man?” the bartender asked.
“There’s a guy in here that’s going to cause trouble, and I need you to spot him for me,” I said. I had my back to the room so I couldn’t be recognized if The Hand was still there.
The blonde server at the end of the bar turned to look around.
“Hey,” I hissed, and she snapped back to face me. “Don’t let on that you’re looking for anyone. Just keep looking at us like we’re having a nice conversation. Justin, I’m going to look down at a menu, and you’re going to casually look around for a big bald guy. Then, start making a drink and tell me where he is.”
Justin was a good boy. He did exactly as I said. “He’s in the middle of the bar. He’s alone. I think he already knows you’re here, man. He’s looking right at us.”
“Fuck,” I growled. Again, I had lost the element of surprise. “You need to round up the staff and get them the fuck out of here. You hear me? Shit is going to get messy real fast. Where’s Evelyn?”
“She’s in the back. Hasn’t been on the floor for ten minutes or so—”
“Don’t tell him anything, Justin,” the blonde server snapped. I liked her. She had a brain and was protecting Evelyn.
“Evelyn is my friend. She called me to come. Now, do as I say. Get the staff out of here and any customers you can.” I stared expectantly at Justin who just blinked back at me. Dumbass. “Do I need to repeat myself? Get your ass moving, kid!”
Justin snapped into action and so did the server. I turned slowly to put my back to the bar.
The Hand was where Justin said he was, right smack in the middle of the bar. He was on his feet and had a cigar hanging out one side of his mouth. He was smiling like he always seemed to do whenever danger was lurking overhead, and he was slowly rolling up the sleeves of his white button-up.
He
chuckled and shook his head once his forearms were exposed. “Well, well, well. I must say. You Lost Breeds just keep making my job easier and easier. You fell right into my lap like a stray mutt.”
“Where’s Jason?”
The Hand shrugged. “The kid is a little bitch. He ran off with his tail between his legs. Looks like he failed to do the job I gave him.” The Hand glanced at my shoulder and clicked his tongue like a disapproving mother. “He’ll have to make up for that somehow.”
“He’s just a kid,” I growled.
“Sure he is and an important one at that. A Moretti. I’ll let him go when I’m done with him. If I feel like it. And in whatever state I choose.”
“Fuck you,” I spat.
The Hand laughed and took his cigar out of his mouth. He tossed it in the ashtray on the table and slipped his hands in his pockets. “You’re a bitter motherfucker, aren’t you?”
“Enough talking.”
“Suits me.” The Hand shrugged.
And that was it. The gloves were off. The people in the lounge had become aware of the tension in the room and had gotten up from their tables to leave. By the time the conversation ended, the entire lounge was empty save for Justin the fool, who was still standing behind the bar like a dope.
The Hand leaned over and plucked his whiskey from the table beside the ashtray. He polished it off in three mouthfuls and then smashed the glass on the edge of the table. He picked up the broken shards and slipped them between his fingers as he made a fist. Then he flashed me a smile and wiggled his glass knuckles beside his face. “Come on Lost Breed. Let’s dance.”
It was going to hurt. It was going to hurt a hell of a lot.
But I could fight dirty too.
I charged him. He stayed where he was, his feet planted, bracing for impact. All the while he smiled like a lunatic as he anticipated the brawl.
I remained focused. I couldn’t afford to fuck up. I had to play this smart if I stood a chance of beating him. He had a good fifty pounds on me, all of which was hard muscle, and I doubted he was the sort to slow down after getting hit hard a few times. If anything, it would probably only spur him on more.